NBA preseason: Warriors beat Clippers with a Lindy Waters III buzzer-beater

The Golden State Warriors started their preseason in style on Saturday in Honolulu, defeating the LA Clippers 91-90 with a stunning three-pointer from off-season shooting star Lindy Waters III.

Golden State had put the ball in play with two rebounds from its own sideline with about ten seconds left. On two consecutive inbound plays, they attempted to get the ball to Waters, who had left the field from three-point range. Both times, the Clippers deflected Gui Santos' inbounds pass, forcing the Dubs to try again. On the third attempt, Santos passed the ball to Reece Beekman, who isolated himself, made a mid-range shot and missed. The ball flew out of bounds, leaving the Warriors with just 1.6 seconds left for a fourth inbound attempt.

This time it worked. They got the ball to Waters — who led the team with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting (all three-point attempts) — and he rose at the buzzer that will hopefully set the tone for the season.

Not a bad start to the year!

How did the Warriors get there? Well, we got a taste of Steve Kerr's desired rotations, starting with the opening lineup: Steph Curry, De'Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

There's not much to say about Kuminga starting ahead of Andrew Wiggins as Wiggins was ruled out due to illness. But it's certainly notable that Kerr – who has claimed Kuminga is a power forward while the youngster and Green have both claimed he's a three – has given JK the chance to start at small forward. And we've certainly seen the direction Kerr is leaning toward starting alongside Curry in the backfield and alongside Green in the frontcourt.

Things started slowly against a Clippers team that was playing without Kawhi Leonard, although James Harden was playing. But after some sloppy play saw the Dubs fall behind 9-3, they found some traction, led by brilliant transition work from Kuminga, and went on a 9-0 run. But the Clippers responded with an 8-0 run of their own as the Warriors made a complete line change, switching to a five-man unit of Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney. Hield wasted no time adjusting, taking a three-pointer on his first shot attempt. More transition offense was prevalent, but the Warriors trailed 26-23 after the first frame.

The second half was excellent and was led by Moses Moody, who hit two three-pointers to make it 3-5. The system seemed to be working well on both sides, although the players were still a bit rusty and sloppy, which is to be expected. At halftime, Golden State led 53-49.

To no one's surprise, Kerr didn't go first. Kuminga and Jackson-Davis were still in the starting lineup in the third quarter, but the night was over for Curry, Green and Melton. The teams went back and forth as they turned things over to their substitutes, and the Clippers led 71-69 early in the final quarter.

The back-and-forth lasted the entire fourth quarter, and neither team was ever able to pull away. It wasn't until Waters drained his three-pointer that we had a clear idea of ​​who was going to win the game.

Moody joined Waters as the only Warriors to score in double figures, as he scored 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting and finished with a team-high +14, in addition to four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Kuminga had an encouraging seven points and seven rebounds (though he wasn't particularly efficient), and Melton impressed with how well he fit alongside Curry on both ends of the court.

And the Warriors won. What's not to like?